Russellville state tourneys ‘first class’What makes a state tournament a success? It’s not about fiscal numbers, Arkansas Activities Association (AAA) executive director Lance Taylor said. It’s about creating memories for the students fortunate enough to participate. “It’s a state tournament,” Taylor said. “That’s hard for a team to achieve and once you get there, it needs to be memorable. It’s not about anything fiscal. It’s for the kids. That’s what it’s all about. Of course, Russe...

Russellville trap team competes in regionalJACKSONVILLE — Twenty-four members of the Russellville Trap Team recently traveled to the Arkansas Game and Fish Commission (AGFC) Shooting Complex to participate in the Arkansas Youth Shooting Sports regional trap shooting tournament. Fourteen students competed in the junior division and shot a combined score of 189, while 10 students competed in the senior division, shooting a combined score of 398. Russellville trap shooting coach Matt Hugh...

Pirates baseball earns multiple honorsDOVER — Pirates head coach Jason McGhee is more interested in talking about the success of his players than his own, despite earning the 4A-4 Conference coach of the year distinction for the fifth time in his career. “It’s more about the kids,” McGhee said. “It’s a big honor, but I like the kids getting recognition more than the coaches.” This year, there’s plenty of both. Seven Dover baseball players earned All-State or All-Conference honors ...

Arkansas’ Beeks to be ready for regional playFAYETTEVILLE — Ailing Arkansas left-hander Jalen Beeks could do enough work during Tuesday’s practice that pitching coach Dave Jorn maybe can see the junior from Prairie Grove helping in relief for the Razorbacks in this weekend’s Charlottesville Regional. Beeks, 5-4, 2.11 earned run average, was a SEC weekend starter all season until missing his final two starts of the SEC regular season and the SEC Tournament because of a sprained elbow. Bee...

Cox named Ozarks’ cheer coachCLARKSVILLE — The University of the Ozarks has hired Tori Cox as head coach of its new competitive cheer/STUNT program, it was announced Wednesday by athletics director Jimmy Clark. Cox, a native of Winterset, Iowa, brings a NCAA Division I cheerleading background as well as head coaching experience to Ozarks’ first-year program. Cox cheered at University of Northern Iowa two years as a flyer for both the All-Girl and coed squads. While at UNI...

by
Ozarks Sports InformationThe Courier Your Messenger For The River Valley

Defense pleases Price at Red-White gameDARDANELLE — Sand Lizards head coach Josh Price didn’t want too many touchdowns on Tuesday at the annual Red and White scrimmage at Keenan Field. Too many touchdowns on either side meant his defense wasn’t performing to the level he wanted. “I think defense was our bright spot,” Price said. “And I think we did a really good job of flying around the ball getting to and limiting our good, skill kids. “We’ve got kids who can do good stuff with th...

Vallejo selected as finalist for Willingham AwardArkansas Tech junior pitcher Randy Vallejo has been named a semifinalist for the 2014 Josh Willingham Award. The award, named for former North Alabama All-American and current Minnesota Twins outfielder Josh Willingham, is given to NCAA Division II’s most valuable player; an individual who not only excels on the field but in the dugout, clubhouse and practice field as well, and leads his team to national championship-caliber status. Vallejo an...

Arkansas pitching excels for tourneysFAYETTEVILLE — Pitching coach Dave Jorn wasn’t sure what to expect from Arkansas’ staff following an offseason of heavy losses to the Major League Baseball draft. The overhauled rotation has proven more than capable of following in the footsteps of the top pitching staff in school history. When the second-seeded Razorbacks (38-23) open the Charlottesville Regional on Friday against Liberty, they’ll do so with a team ERA of 2.63. The pitching h...

Sisson voted league coach of yearRussellville Lady Cyclones head coach Harley Sisson was recently selected by league coaches as the 7A/6A-Central Conference Coach of the Year for the second time in his career. Sisson was also honored with the award in 2011. “There’s so many good coaches out there,” Sisson said. “I have so much respect for them and appreciate what they do and their programs. For them to acknowledge that or recognize me, that’s huge.” While the recognition is i...

RHS to host scrimmageThe Russellville Cylcones football team will host its annual Red and Black Scrimmage at 6 p.m. Friday at Cyclone Stadium. While the Cyclones will change little about their offensive and defensive strategies, Russellville head coach Jeff Holt said the team has made several changes to its offseason program. Holt said he hopes to see some of the results during Friday’s scrimmage. “We’ve had a really good offseason,” Holt said. “Really, really pro...

Twenty ATU student-athletes join class of Chi Alphi SigmaVolleyball senior Sara Motsinger was recognized as the Jeanice Falls Outstanding Female Student-Athlete, football senior Thomas Soehner was recognized as the John E. Tucker Outstanding Male Student-Athlete, leading a group of 20 student-athletes inducted into the inaugural class of the Chi Alpha Sigma National College Athlete Honor Society at Arkansas Tech University. The Chi Alpha Sigma National Honor Society was founded at DePauw University ...

by
ATU Sports InformationThe Courier Your Messenger For The River Valley

Arkansas-Mizzou game movedFAYETTEVILLE — Arkansas says its regular season-ending game against Missouri has been moved up a day, marking the 17th time in 19 seasons the Razorbacks will have played on the day after Thanksgiving. The two Southeastern Conference schools, playing for the first time as conference foes, will play in Columbia, Missouri, on Friday, Nov. 28 at 1:30 p.m. on CBS. The teams had been scheduled to play a day later, which would have been Arkansas’ fir...

Moments before the title, teams show supportFAYETTEVILLE — The Russellville Cyclones were busy. It was 7:15 p.m. on Friday and kickoff for the Class 6A state title match against the Greenwood Bulldogs was scheduled for 8 p.m. at Razorback Field in Fayetteville. The majority of the team was warming up in a patch of grass near the concession stand, but junior captain Brayden Bennett and senior captain Miguel Nava were in the press box, giving interviews. Were they nervous? Not according t...

Local sports briefs (May 27, 2014)Sand Lizards football scrimmage today DARDANELLE — The Dardanelle Sand Lizards spring football scrimmage will kick off at 6 p.m. today at Keenan Field. Cost of admission is a donation to the Dardanelle Football Booster Club. ATU Night with the Travelers on June 6 Arkansas Tech University alumni and friends will gather at Dickey-Stephens Park in North Little Rock on Friday, June 6, for the eighth annual Arkansas Tech Night with the Arkansas Tra...

Bassmasters provides excitementThe Bassmasters Elite Series 2014 appearance on Lake Dardanelle and the Arkansas River may very well have been our best professional tournament on this lake ever! It had every kind of drama imaginable — from a cold front that made the start of the tournament feel like a winter event, including hard-to-find living quarters for our visitors. Russellville has never seen a shortage of motel space, but apparently there were so many things happening...

Looking back on a memorable deer huntWhile it’s still a long way until deer season and I have barely wet a hook this spring, I’m forced to recall a deer hunt that still rings clear. Where was I going to hunt in the morning? Being a mobile deer hunter who likes to hunt out of a climbing treestand, I rarely hunt out of the same tree twice in any given year. Furthermore, while our choices are greater, this can be the most frustrating part of our hunt — choosing where to hunt. Some h...

Championship game record remains undefeated FAYETTEVILLE — “So what do plan to do with all this?” Russellville assistant head coach Blake Young asked. “All this” was a reference to the series of pictures, eavesdropping and general shadowing I was doing to the Russellville Cyclones soccer team on their way to the Class 6A state title game against the Greenwood Bulldogs. I arrived at Russellville High School at 9 a.m in order to ride with the team to Fayetteville. I watched the student bo...

2 days, 2 state titlesFAYETTEVILLE — “I don't get nervous,” Russellville pitcher Mark Moyer said the night before the Russellville Cyclones defeated the Marion Patriots 2-0 for the Class 6A state baseball championship. Moyer struck out 10 Marion batters and gave up two hits during Saturday afternoon's victory at Baum Stadium on George Cole Field on the University of Arkansas campus in Fayetteville. “I get butterflies,” Moyer continued. “I get a little excited, but ...

STATE CHAMPSFAYETTEVILLE — Missed opportunities. That’s what Russellville Cyclones head coach Jared Fuller didn’t want going into the Cyclones 1-0 victory over the Greenwood Bulldogs for the Class 6A state championship. But that’s exactly what pushed the game into overtime and exactly what almost cost Russellville (17-10) the game. The Cyclones had nine shots on goal, against Greenwood’s lone shot, which sailed high over the goal with 42 seconds left in r...

Local coaches receive All-Star honorsDANVILLE — Zach Hettinga ended his career as the Danville Little Johns head baseball coach with postseason recognition from the Arkansas Activities Association (AAA). Hettinga, who started the Danville baseball program six years ago, resigned from his position to focus on graduate school at Arkansas Tech University. “I really enjoyed our players,” Hettinga said. “They were from good families and hard workers. They were the highlight of my stin...